She laughed at herself suddenly. ‘Of course, this home is completely tied up with her job, but she’ll have a say in what goes on. No one can fire her – or make it so she has to leave, just like that. She should never be homeless again.’ Meg stopped, realising that the same would soon apply to her: she was about to own a third of Nightingale Woods.
An hour later, a very smart red Mini shot up the drive through the drizzle to the front of the hotel and out came a young man who looked as if he would be very charming were he not so hot and flustered. ‘Dame Miriam is coming just behind me!’ he announced urgently when he reached the front desk. ‘Her chauffeur is driving. I’m just here to check the accommodation.’
‘Would you like a drink of water first?’ said Meg, who’d seen the car drive up and had gone into the hall to greet him.
‘Actually, that would be fab! My name is Inigo.’ He gulped the water that Meg brought him. ‘Can I see where you’re putting the jewel in the crown of the London stage?’
Meg laughed, immediately taking a liking to this young man. ‘We were informed she wanted a cottage and we’ve got one we hope she’ll like but we all feel – people from the hotel, I mean – that she’d be more comfortable in one of our luxury rooms.’
‘You’re probably right but she’s got her heart set on something rustic, to fit in with the play. Let’s have a look.’
But when Inigo saw the head groom’s cottage he relaxed. ‘I genuinely do think she’ll be comfortable here,’ he said when he’d inspected all the rooms. ‘She might want me to sleep in the other bedroom, in case she needs anything in the night.’ He exhaled. ‘Looking after one of the finest – if not the finest – actresses of our age is such an honour, but it is, frankly, exhausting!’
‘Is she difficult?’ asked Meg, pleased that the cottage everyone – her mother in particular – had worked so hard on passed muster.
‘Not at all, but because of who she is, we all think we have to check she’s not just being accommodating and really wants whatever it is she’s said she wants.’ He took another breath. ‘Is there any chance I can grab a sandwich before she gets here?’
They went back to the kitchen where Susan, who was indulgent towards handsome young men with lovely manners, was obviously charmed by him.
‘We’ve got chicken salad – my best coronation recipe which makes sure the chicken is really moist,’ said Meg.
‘You could have that in a sandwich if you liked,’ said Susan, although she knew it had been specially prepared for Dame Miriam.
‘Or there’s local crab, which we got for our special guests,’ said Meg, who didn’t mind about the chicken because there was plenty. ‘We tried to get lobster but there was none available.’
‘Or there’s ham,’ said Susan, still focused on feeding the good-looking young man. ‘From our butcher who specialises in pork. Best there is. Now, what sort of sandwich do you really want?’
Inigo said everything sounded perfect but opted for ham and had eaten two sturdy doorsteps before a car was heard and he shot out of the kitchen to receive Dame Miriam.
Not wanting to miss the arrival of this prestigious guest, everyone else in the kitchen followed him.
Meg, who couldn’t rid herself of the notion that a theatrical dame must look similar to a pantomime dame, took a breath as she watched Inigo help her from the car.
Dame Miriam looked as if she’d stepped out of a painting by Renoir, only fairy-sized. She was extremely pretty in her matching dress and coat and large picture hat. She was smiling in a way that spread sunshine through the greyness. It was, Meg realised, very easy to imagine her playing Titania. Inigo was carrying an enormous handbag, which was obviously too big and heavy for Dame Miriam to carry herself.
Inigo and the chauffeur led her up the steps to the hotel, and as she came nearer, the lines became visible and her true age more apparent.
‘Darlings!’ she announced in the foyer. ‘Isn’t this just heaven! I thought Russell must be exaggerating when he said how lovely it is here, but I see that he didn’t at all!’
Meg stepped forward, wishing her mother would emerge from wherever she’d disappeared to. ‘Good afternoon, Dame Miriam. I’m Meg. It’s such an honour for us to have you here.’ She hadn’t prepared a speech, although now she felt she should have done.
‘Dear child! It’s always a joy to work with Russell and I love theDreamso much. Inigo, darling, can you pass me by bag?’ She rummaged in it for a few moments and eventually produced a lace handkerchief. ‘I know it’s silly but ever since I was inThe Importance of Being Earnest, I’ve felt obliged to have abag big enough to keep a baby in. Luckily, I’ve got this darling boy to carry it around for me.’
‘There’s a charming little cottage for you to stay in,’ said Inigo. ‘Would you like to see it now?’
‘Maybe a restorative cup of tea first?’ asked Dame Miriam. ‘If that’s not too much trouble?’
‘Of course,’ said Meg, aware of Susan flying back to the kitchen. ‘Can I suggest you sit in the drawing room until it arrives?’ She ushered her charming guest to a chair and table in the window seat.
Ambrosine, looking very much better after her rest, appeared too. ‘Dame Miriam? If I may? I just had to tell you, I saw your Viola, just after the war …’ She clasped her hands to her breast. ‘I was transported!’
As Inigo was also with her, Meg withdrew to the kitchen. Dame Miriam had seemed enchanted by Ambrosine’s memory of her Viola, so Meg was free to focus on suitable refreshments for a great actress.
‘She’s asked for tea,’ Meg explained to Susan. ‘And because she’s so like a fairy, I seem to think she can only eat fairy-sized food.’ Meg filled a plate with tiny meringues and eclairs.
Susan had made sandwiches and had cut them into fingers, no crusts, very easy to eat and a choice of fillings. ‘That Inigo will eat anything left over, you mark my words. Lads that age have all got hollow legs.’
Meg put three cups and saucers on the tray with the teapot, milk and sugar, in case anyone else was invited, and took it through. Susan followed with a tall cake stand bearing a selection of food which could have been elevenses, lunch, afternoon tea, or all three.
